Opinions and Letters

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UPDATED: Council Committee notes - City website / Neighborhood Conversations

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"Finance, Administration and Communication" Council meeting talking points: The City Website :   Phase One involved community outreach and is complete.  Phase Two is underway and involves building out the design.  90% of the design is done with 5,000 pages reduced to 1500 pages.  (This just gives you and idea how outdated this website is; many of us have been asking for a new website for almost a decade.)  In response to Council member Steve Fields' question about how many employees were involved in Phase Two, Communications Director Lisa Mayre said 50 staff representing all departments participated in the updates.  12- 15 "super users" from planning and land use played a major role.  Mr. Myers asked for Search engine improvements.  Apparently, we'll have them. (I get better luck on google.)  We can expect more photos and videos too. Launch month is February. Neighborhood Conversations :    Jill Smith is now a member of the Com...
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OPINION: Planned development on corner of Willows & 124th brings challenges and opportunities

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Could something like this happen here? Maybe. Internet  Updated 1/29, 1:01 PM Quadrant is working with the City to develop "Business District" property at the intersection of NE 124th Street and Willows Road on the Southwest corner . Here goes.  The Applicant (Fred Proctor) is proposing a mixed-use development consisting of approximately 370 residential units with a variety of housing types that would include for-sale townhomes, triplex and traditional for-rent apartment style dwellings. The development would also include a minimum of 20,000 sq. ft. of ground-level or stand-alone retail or commercial space , to include neighborhood-scale commercial uses, office, and/or day care center uses. Transportation:   Willows Road is already congested and traffic is poor here but Council member Myers calls the development "a ten minute community" where many of the residents can work nearby, I assume keeping some cars off the road, and with shopping at Totem Lake.  A necessar...
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UPDATED: Favorable City revenue / expense trend

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Melissa Files, Director of City Finance reported this Tuesday that similar to the prior month, "revenue spiked 6% over target while expenditures were 3% under target.  Ms. Files indicated the reasons for this favorable report were similar to earlier monthly reports, as follows: She stated: "Sales tax on construction took a big jump to $5 million in December. Usually it's in the $2.3 million range.  Everything that has to do with development review - taxes, licensing, and permits - contributed to the favorable outcome."  Council member Steve Fields said "It looked like there were 4 months similar to what you described.  Does this begin to present a trend?"  Files answered, "Yes," that she was anticipating this in her forecast for 2019 but didn't expect it this soon.  Mr. Fields said "I appreciate this vigilance because I think it's important to our decision-making to know where we're at on our revenue projections."  Files said...
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